railways

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Narrow gauge line

The narrow gauge railway line between Port Elizabeth and the town of Avontuur in the Langkloof  was built by the government of the Cape Colony between 1890 and 1906 and at 285 kilometres it is the longest 610-mm-narrow gauge route in the world.  Along the way the line crosses over the highest two foot narrow-gauge railway bridge in the world.  In 1965 the Apple Express tourist train started operating on part of the line and finally seized operations in 2011 due to…

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09/08/2013
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Between the lines, the railway lines

On a Geocaching trip around the Bluewater Bay and Redhouse area the other day we went looking for a cache next to the railway bridge across the Swartkops River.  On the way back to the car I thought Chaos Boy walking on the railway track would make for a cool picture which it did.

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23/07/2013
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Railroad switch

A railroad switch on the narrow gauge line west of Port Elizabeth.  So sad that there is no Apple Express running along this historic line at the moment, but from what I hear there are a lot of people working hard behind the scenes to get her back on the line.

6 Comments
14/05/2013
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Sunnyside Station

Geocaching is taking me to all kinds of places I haven't been to before.  And here I was thinking I've been everywhere. This specific Grannynasty cache took me a bit off the beaten track along a dirt road just west of the Van Stadens Bridge to the old Sunnyside Station, 29 1/2 miles from Port Elizabeth.  The station is on the narrow gauge railway line that runs from Port Elizabeth all the way to Avontuur in the Langkloof.  The line which used…

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21/04/2013
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Station paintings

The beautiful old Victorian Railway Station in Port Elizabeth has existed on the present location since 1875 when the first line was constructed to Uitenhage about 40 kilometres away.  The original building was designed by the then Resident Engineer of  Harbour and Public Works in Port Elizabeth, James Bisset, with extensive additions, including the cast-iron supported roof of the main concourse, being completed by 1893.  The round painted panels depicting scenes from the city were painted by Bernard Horn in the late 1980's.

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27/11/2012
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New Brighton Station

As the main railway station in the townships, the New Brighton Station saw a lot of action during the apartheid years.  Visiting the station today you can still see the railing that divided the bridge across the rail into "Europeans Only" and "Blacks Only" sections.   On 26 June 1952, the volunteers for the Defiance Campaign which was due to start the next day, camped at the New Brighton Civic Centre and proceeded in the wee hours of morning to the station…

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19/11/2012
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Window to the harbour

This narrow guage railway bridge (if I can call is that), crosses one of the old unused South End Roads below Beach Road close to the Humewood Station.  I was just curious to see it from up close and ventured down to it.  It made for a nice window towards the harbour. 

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10/12/2010
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Jack’s Trolley

Visitors to the Old Railway Museum in Uitenhage will find an old yellow railway trolley hooked to the rolling stock at the museum. The trolley belonged to James "Jumper" Wide who was a signalman at the Uitenhage Station when the line to Port Elizabeth was established in the late 1800's. Jumper lost both his legs when he slipped and fell under a train. One day he saw a baboon lead a team of oxen into town and Jumper bought the…

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06/08/2010
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Old Railway Museum

At the bottom of Market Street in Uitenhage railway enthusiasts will find the Old Railway Museum. The museum is housed in what is reputed to be one of the oldest railway stations in the country. The museum is quite quaint and has two vintage locomotives, a variety of coaches and lots of period furniture and equipment. Now if only the guy in his run down blue bakkie would leave while I wanted to take the photo, but he just sat…

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21/07/2010